Australian travel and safety solutions Locomote and JESI partner up for major Chevron deal

Australian corporate travel solution Locomote and safety monitoring platform JESI have secured a joint partnership with American energy giant Chevron, using a collaborative approach to lock in a deal with the world’s largest companies.

Locomote, founded in 2012 by cousins Ross and David Fastuca, provides an automated travel booking and management process for major corporations.

The company sold to UK-based Travelport in 2016, but a change in corporate direction and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on travel saw the Fastucas regain ownership in 2021.

The company has since undertaken a $4 million funding round, powering its outreach to international firms like Chevron.

Speaking to SmartCompany, chief marketing officer and co-founder David Fastuca says partnering with JESI allowed Chevron to tackle two problems at once — how to manage travel arrangements at scale, and how to oversee the varying safety requirements of a global workforce.

JESI, which already works with major mining and resource organisations, made the introduction to Chevron, he says.

“Chevron has this problem and we’re solving this component, [but] if we integrate together, both our systems for Chevron, this is going to tick so many boxes,” Fastuca described of his initial conversations with JESI management.

An existing working relationship between the two Australian companies, and a dedication to agile solutions, helped the deal get through in a matter of days, he added.

“When you think of companies the size of Chevron, you think, ‘This deal was two years in the making, it took eight months to roll out,'” Fastuca said.

“It was one of the fastest deals that ever came to the table. We spoke to them, showed the tool together, they loved it, signed, implemented it all within two weeks. It was incredible.”

The fact Chevron and JESI were both game to implement the solution at pace was a marked benefit, he says.

“Credit to the JESI team and the Locomote team. You know, when you on the same page and in sync, you can make shit happen really quick.”

The partnership is ready for implementation at other resource giants, says CCO Nick Sutherland, with a focus on openness and collaboration proving a boon for the provider.

“We’ve got proof in the pudding here with Chevron case study, but there will be a number of others that will evolve off the back of that with JESI and other providers” he said.

“Our mindset internally is very much around creating that marketplace, that platform, but getting the expertise from other suppliers and partners to work together to get joint commercial outcomes.”

In keeping with its forward-looking approach to travel booking, Fastuca said Locomote may be the only B Corp certified travel technology provider worldwide.

That commitment to responsible ESG extends to its product offering, and the hope of eventually calculating the carbon output of travel itineraries.

While the full carbon-measuring suite is yet to be implemented, Sutherland envisioned a system where clients will be empowered to evaluate flight routes, aircraft types, and even car hire options on projected carbon impact.

When questioned about the decision to partner with Chevron — a major carbon emitter, whose own WA carbon capture and storage project failed to meet company’s own targets — Sutherland said he hoped Locomote would influence the companies it works with.

“We wouldn’t have gone through the B Corp [certification] unless we really seriously meant it,” he said.

“We want to live it, we want to breathe it, we want to talk to our customers about it, and what it means to them.

“Corporate and cultural alignment is really important. And we will continue to target and work with people across those really key important areas: environment, social and governance.”